Leeds United have targeted Lille left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson as a potential replacement for Junior Firpo this summer, and the Swede comes with plenty of Champions League experience against some of the world’s best.
Coming into the Premier League, Leeds’ recruitment policy is already consisting of players that boast plenty of experience in top flight divisions.
Leeds’ lineup is going to have to match the quality of their top flight counterparts in order to pick up enough points; Jaka Bijol comes with Serie A and international pedigree, and other targets are likewise.
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Leeds United considering move for Lille left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson
Junior Firpo’s exit from Elland Road appears to be imminent after a reported agreement with former club Real Betis, and it leaves the club without a starting left-back.
The Yorkshire Evening Post have since revealed that one of the 49ers’ top targets on the left side of defence is Lille’s Gabriel Gudmundsson.
(REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo)
A Sweden international, Gudmundsson has been a regular for the French club both in Ligue 1 and in the Champions League since joining from Groningen in 2021.
Out of contract in just over 12 months’ time, Leeds could lodge a bid to sign the 26-year-old at a relatively low cost compared to other targets.
Gabriel Gudmundsson verdict from impressive 1-0 UCL win v Real Madrid star Endrick
Looking at how Gudmundsson might fare in the Premier League for Leeds, it’s worth seeing how he copes with facing superior opposition in the Champions League, given if he joins the Whites, he’s likely going to be part of the inferior side a lot of the time.
Back-to-back clashes against Madrid’s finest yielded consecutive wins in the Champions League last season for Lille and Gudmundsson, first a 1-0 triumph at home to Real, and then assisting in a 3-1 away win at Atletico.
(REUTERS/Benoit Tessier)
There was no Kylian Mbappe or Rodrygo in the starting lineup for Los Blancos, meaning Gudmundsson was tasked with halting £51million talent Endrick, who was leading the line and largely found himself drifting out to the right, partnering the relentless Federico Valverde and experienced Dani Carvajal.
None of these three got the better of Gudmundsson, with Endrick hooked on 57 minutes and neither he nor Valverde managing a key pass.
The Swede set the tone early to pump the home crowd up by bullying the youngster out of possession as he threatened to break clear, and it was a sign of things to come with Gudmundsson a key part of a resolute, well-organised defensive display against the reigning European champions with 13 duels contested in 90 minutes, and not dribbled past once.
WhoScored.com’s touch map for Carvajal, Valverde and Endrick
As shown in the touch map above, there was a lot of action – largely for Carvajal – in wide spaces, but none of it to actually penetrate beyond Gudmundsson on the left side of the Lille penalty area.
Proving it wasn’t a flash in the pan was his and Lille’s impressive display away to Atletico, in which a change of role pushed Gudmundsson further up as a wing-back, scrambling an assist to clinch that 3-1 win as his volley found Jonathan David at the far post.